This invention relates to cuvette arrays for centrifugal analyzers. The particular object of the invention is to provide a cuvette array which is simple to manufacture and simple to use. The invention is an improvement of the cuvette array disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,173 which issued Oct. 13, 1978.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,173, the cuvette array there disclosed is formed from upper and lower discs of flexible thermoplastic material, in which the lower disc is formed with a plurality of compartments circumferentially spaced about a central hub, and the upper disc is bonded to the outer periphery of the lower disc to close off an outer peripheral portion of the compartments. The inner peripheral portion of those compartments has been left exposed in the disc, and hence evaporation of reagents in those inner peripheral compartment portions may occur in a disc. In the past, it has been the practice to separately form a centering piece for the cuvette array, which is positioned over the central hub abovementioned to enable the nesting of one cuvette array over another, while at the same time preventing relative rotation of the nested arrays so as to prevent scratching of the arrays which might occur upon relative movement thereof during shipping.
The present invention simplifies the construction of a cuvette array by eliminating a separately formed centering piece and, instead, integrally forming a centering piece with the upper disc during the fabrication of the latter. Furthermore, by integrally forming such a centering piece, so that it is co-extensive with the outer peripheral portion of the upper disc, evaporation of reagent which might take place from the open compartments of the array disclosed in the cited U.S. Patent is avoided. The new central portion which is integrally formed into the upper disc of the array may be so formed with a tearible score line to permit the central portion to be entirely removed, if desired, to permit the washing of the cuvette compartments and re-use of the array.
The invention will be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.